U.S. Space Power: The Achilles Heel of America's Economic Well-Being
Abstract
Today, the United States is more dependent on space capabilities, both militarily and economically, than any other country in the world.1 And, our dependence is growing at an exponential rate. However, just as with any leading edge technology or revolutionary capability, the cost is significant and budgets are limited. Consequently, it is critical that our space forces are properly prioritized, sized, and balanced with respect to national strategy and force planning to ensure we have the required capabilities to meet our national objectives. Our dependence on space assets for national defense receives the vast majority of attention. However, American's are rapidly becoming more and more reliant on space systems as part of the nation's critical economic infrastructure, and most American's don't even realize it. Further, the vulnerability of U.S. space systems to enemy/terrorist attack is growing with the proliferation of technology, is also widely unknown, and represents a critical weakness in the U.S. economic infrastructure. The purpose of this paper therefore, is to: 1) analyze our vital national economic interests and the strategic importance of our space capabilities; 2) demonstrate that current space forces are improperly programmed to fully meet their designated requirements in support of national interests; 3) demonstrate that the results of this deficiency could prove catastrophic; and 4) provide prescriptive solutions to rectify the "strategic gap" between national interests and space capabilities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 21, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA427676
Entities
People
- Clinton E. Crosier
Organizations
- Naval War College